History of the Railway in the Souris Area
Building the Railroad Once it was determined where the railroad would be built, it took a massive effort to prepare for the laying of the tracks. A 100 foot wide strip was cut through the woods in the determined area, using only cross cut saws and axesElmira Railway Museum: The End of the Line ''Virtual Museum of Canada. 8 September 2002. Web. 3 September 2017.''. The woods were dense in those days, and this required a lot of work. Once the woods had prepared, loads upon loads of fill were brought in by horse and cart in order to prepare the ground and to make the track bed. Many of the men who worked on the construction of the railroad stayed on site during the work week, returning to the their families only on the weekend. Old box cars were used as a sleeping quarters and as a cook house. When building the Souris to Elmira extension, two [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_shovel steam shovels] were brought on site from New Brunswick by boat to grade the land and to dig out the banks around rivers and streams to build the culverts. Erma Stewart recalls that one of the large steam shovels had to be taken apart and loaded onto a truck wagon pulled by horses in order to reach the area where it was needed. It was imperative that a high quality sand and gravel be used for the cement on the culverts, if they were to withstand the strain of the train. It was determined that the gravel from North Lake was best, while the white sand from South Lake was best. These products were transported to the construction site via horse and cart. Braving the Elements Snow was always an enemy of the railroad, and it could easily cause delays or derailments. During heavy snow storms the train would often get stuck in the snow, and it would need to be shoveled out by the men. These men would either be those who had been hired for just such a job, and who waited on call, or, if it was deemed necessary, by the men who were passengers upon the train. The tracks were checked for snow on a regular basis by a hired work crew, which most often consisted of four men who would travel the rails on an open trolley which was by hand in order to move along the tracks. This trolley became motorized in 1914. During one particularly bad snowstorm, the train failed to make it to Elmira for seven days. Another storm in 1923 is recorded as having delayed the train for days. Work, Wages, and Costs Men working on the lines at the time of the Souris to Elmira construction lived in tents which had been set up at Munn's Road. They were paid $1.50 per day, and supper cost only 17 cents. Room and board for the week was $3.50. The cook for the crew of the Elmira extension was Allan MacKinnon, from Selkirk. It was his difficult duty to walk from Selkirk to Elmira every Monday morning in order to report for work, as the Monday train always went west and therefore could not take him; nor could he take the horse for the entire week, and thus he was left with the only option of walking. Souris to Elmira The first survey for the railroad from Souris to Elmira took place in 1907. The final decision as to where the railway would go was made after a second survey in 1909, in which it was determined that the line would go through Harmony. This line was completed in 1912 with stations at Harmony Junction, Connaught, Fountain Head, East Baltic, and Munn's Road. The Harmony Junction station had a 10 000 gallon water tank. A first class ticket from Elmira to Souris was 70 cents, while a second class return ticket was 45 cents. Passenger trains were a daily occurence, while freight trains were run about twice per week. There was a special train which would be chartered during the Charlottetown Exhibition, and this special train allowed you to go from Elmira to the exhibition and back for only $1.00. At Christmas time the Charlottetown return train was held for two extra hours in order to allow passengers additional time to go shopping in the city. Many of the train stations, notably East Baltic and [[Elmira Train Station]], were popular places for socializing on a winter's evening, and many would meet to talk around the old pot bellied stove. It is also said that it was not uncommon to see the young people peeking in the windows to see what the afternoon freight train had brought. Several students would travel to Souris from Elmira on a weekly basis to complete grades 9 and 10. They would board in Souris, only to return home on the weekends. If there was a storm and the train could not get through they would be forced to stay for the entirety of the week. The last passenger train to Elmira was in 1967 or 1969 (conflicting sources). = References